This invention relates to loader vehicles, and more particularly, to such a vehicle which includes a bucket which may be moved to a position generally rearward of the front wheels thereof.
Manufacturers of material handling vehicles often modify their products to obtain improved loading and/or hauling capability which might be needed to fit a customer's specific application. Standard wheel loaders may have their bucket linkage altered both to afford increased break-out force and higher reach. Other loaders have been provided with auxiliary rearmounted bucket, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,526,329 to Anderson et al., assigned to the Assignee of this invention, to provide increased hauling capacity.
In the past, it has been recognized that balanced placement of a load carried by a bucket of a vehicle, during the actual transport of such load by the vehicle, is highly desirable. That is, it has been found that it is highly advantageous to position the load carried by the bucket for actual transport thereof somewhat inwardly of the vehicle relative to the position of such bucket during loading thereof.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,328,715, to Drott; 3,079,020, to Gustine; 3,125,234, to Gustine; and 3,221,909 to Magnuson disclose a material handling vehicle which includes an implement which is loaded in a position relatively outward of a pair of wheels of the vehicle, and which is subsequently moved to a position inward of such a loading position relative to the vehicle for carrying of the load. However, in each of these patents, it is to be noted that the implement when being carried is in a position substantially above the axis of rotation of a pair of wheels. While such placement of a load aids in the overall balancing of the vehicle, it is to be understood that it would be even more desirable to place such loaded implement even further inward of such wheels, i.e., between the rotational axes of the forward and rearward wheels of the vehicle.
A similar analysis applies to U.S. Pat. No. 2,978,124 to Bernotas, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,059,792 to Bernotas. That is, the loaded implement when being carried by the vehicle is positioned substantially directly above the axis of rotation of the forward pair of wheels of the vehicle.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,703,973 to Nilsson, a bucket is shown as being disposed rearwardly of the front wheels, and forwardly of the rear wheels, and the load in such bucket may be transported with the bucket in such position. It is to be noted, however, that the arms associating the bucket with the vehicle are pivotally mounted to the vehicle at approximately the mid-point thereof. While the placement of such arms may be appropriate in such U.S. Pat. No. 3,703,973, it is to be understood that such placement may cause difficulty in other vehicles, or may in fact be impossible to achieve, since such mid-space of the vehicle may by necessity be occupied by, for example, the operator's station thereof, the power source of the vehicle, etc.